Archive for the 'Lamar Dawson' Tag Under 'USC' Category

USC begins spring practice this afternoon, and we’ll have complete coverage here afterward and the rest of the week.

In the meantime, I thought I’d take a look at five unheralded, or at least less heralded, players to watch. There are no stars here but guys whose development could be pivotal for the 2015 Trojans (players listed in alphabetical order).

TE JALEN COPE-FITZPATRICK

Coach Steve Sarkisian said the following about his tight ends in USC’s spring media guide: “Tight end is the position of our biggest concern because we don’t have the depth we want or need. We need everyone to step up here. We might have to rely on some young players to do double duty and use their athletic ability.” If Cope-Fitzpatrick can prove to be a reliable player, that probably won’t be necessary. It’s no sure thing, though. Even if he’s academically eligible now (which he says he is), Cope-Fizpatrick is relatively unproven. He has appeared in 23 games but has just three receptions. He also hasn’t played since 2013. Bryce Dixon has star potential as a receiver, and the scouting reports are glowing on freshman Tyler Petite’s pass-catching ability. Cope-Fitzpatrick has the size and strength to be an all-around force. Now it’s just a matter of doing it.

LB LAMAR DAWSON

Dawson never felt quite comfortable enough with his surgically repaired knee to shed his brace and let it rip last season. So he redshirted with an eye toward 2015. Which is now here. If Dawson can regain his pre-injury form, it would be a huge boost for USC’s defense. The Trojans could plug in a seasoned senior to replace leading tackler Hayes Pullard, and the drop-off at middle linebacker would be imperceptible – if Dawson is healthy and mobile. Given his reluctance to try to return last season, the biggest hurdle for Dawson might be mental. I’ll be very interested to see how he looks during full-padded practices this spring. Will he be his usual aggressive self? Or will he be tentative with the knee injury still in the back of his mind? USC has other options at MLB, but Dawson is the best one.

LB SCOTT FELIX

Felix started five games and appeared in all 13 last season, but he didn’t make enough of an impact. After showing great promise as a pass rusher during training camp, Felix had just 1.5 sacks. He started and played extensively in the UCLA game but didn’t record a single tackle. (Pro Football Focus had Felix with one tackle and one QB hit in 24 snaps.) Although Felix, who will be a redshirt junior next season, has more experience than his competition for the “Rush” OLB spot, he has a lot of competition. Jabari Ruffin – a starter entering training camp last season – is on his way back from a knee injury. Additionally, USC loaded up at OLB in its 2015 recruiting class (Porter Gustin, John Houston Jr., possibly Osa Masina). So it’s time for Felix to prove he has what it takes – or risk losing his spot.

CB CHRIS HAWKINS

Entering training camp last year, Hawkins was one of six defensive backs Sarkisian said he felt good about. By the end of the season, Hawkins was barely playing. When he did play, he was plagued by penalties. Josh Shaw’s departure opens a spot at cornerback, but USC signed three would-be corners – and it seems certain that incoming freshman Iman Marshall will play right away. So Hawkins’ career is at a crossroads. Will he regain the coaches’ confidence and push for a meaningful role? Will he continue on the backup track? Will he shift to safety, a position of greater need where Hawkins dabbled in December? Spring is the time to start answering some of those questions. With the freshmen not yet here, and Adoree’ Jackson’s time divided between football and track, Hawkins should have plenty of opportunities to show what he’s got.

OG JORDAN SIMMONS

USC is loaded at guard, especially if left-tackle fill-in Toa Lobendahn eventually returns to his OLG spot. But Sarkisian singled out Simmons during our conversation last week, so I’ll have my eye on him this spring. Simmons came to USC with impeccable credentials. He was Rivals’ top-ranked guard in the class of 2012. He has tremendous size at 6-foot-4 and 350 pounds. He just can’t stay healthy. Simmons had knee surgery before his freshman year (when he redshirted), missed half of 2013 because of a knee injury and missed all of last season because of knee issues. That’s a lot of knee problems for a 350-pound man. The question is whether Simmons can stay on the field and recapture the form that made him such a sought-after recruit. With a crowd in front of him, any playing time will have to be earned.

With the March 3 start of spring practice fast approaching, it’s time to examine USC’s depth chart on a position-by-position basis. I won’t predict the exact order, but I will break up each position into tiers and discuss some key issues.

LINEBACKERS

DEFINITE STARTERS

OLB Su’a Cravens, junior

ILB Anthony Sarao, redshirt senior

POSSIBLE STARTERS

ILB Michael Hutchings, junior

ILB Lamar Dawson, redshirt senior

ILB Olajuwon Tucker, sophomore

OLB Jabari Ruffin, redshirt junior

OLB Scott Felix, redshirt junior

PASS-RUSH SPECIALISTS

OLB Quinton Powell, junior

OLB Charles Burks, redshirt senior

NEWCOMERS TO WATCH

OLB Osa Masina, freshman

OLB Porter Gustin, freshman

REDSHIRT POSSIBILITIES

ILB Cameron Smith, freshman

ILB John Houston Jr., freshman

WHERE DO THEY FIT IN?

OLB Malik Dorton, redshirt freshman

OLB Don Hill, redshirt freshman

SPRING STORYLINES

USC has done a really nice job of stocking this position. Assuming he remains at linebacker (as opposed to moving back to safety), Cravens is the star here. Sarao is as steady and solid as they come. After that, questions abound. One assumes Dawson will be full go after sitting out last season while recovering from 2013 knee surgery; how he performs will go a long way toward determining the identity of Sarao’s ILB running mate. The availability of Ruffin, who tore his ACL in August 2014, is less certain. He was slated to start before getting hurt; now he’ll be part of competition/rotation that also includes Felix, whose in-season production didn’t match his preseason promise. Hutchings and Powell need to get bigger to have bigger roles. Early enrollee Smith has plenty of bulk (6-3, 240); how he performs in spring could determine whether he’s on or off the redshirt track.

CAMP QUESTIONS

Will big-time recruits Masina and Gustin live up to the hype and emerge as immediate contributors? Who besides Cravens (68 tackles, 17 TFL, 9 PBU, 5 sacks, 3 INT in 2014) will emerge as a consistent playmaker? Can Dawson stay healthy and solidify the interior of a defense that no longer has leading tackler Hayes Pullard? Who among the less-experienced returnees (Hutchings, Tucker, Powell, Ruffin, et al) will separate himself from the others? Who will make up for J.R. Tavai’s 13.5 tackles for losses, which included seven sacks?

(NOTE: I did not include sophomore-to-be Uchenna Nwosu in this depth chart. Nwosu is not currently enrolled. He is expected to rejoin the team in summer, but until that becomes official, I'm excluding him.)

USC senior linebacker Lamar Dawson participated in 7-on-7 drills, an important step in his comeback from knee surgery.

Dawson hurt his left knee in October 2013 and elected to redshirt this season. With “Mike” inside linebacker Hayes Pullard headed to the NFL, Dawson is a natural candidate to slide into that spot in 2015 – assuming his body and mind are right.

“We’re hopeful we get him back full steam and ready to go,” USC coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We’re trying to get some stuff out of him here over the next couple of weeks to give him a sense of confidence heading into the offseason.

“I think he really needs a good offseason conditioning program. He literally missed the entire one last year because of the knee injury. He needs a highly competitive spring practice to get his competitive juices flowing again, so that when August rolls around he’s in a good frame of mind and … can get back to being the player that he was.”

Here are three things to watch for in Saturday’s USC-Notre Dame game (12:30 p.m., Fox/11), plus a final-score prediction and game-preview links:

1. THEIR LAST

This is the last time USC’s seniors will play at the Coliseum. It’s not a huge group: just nine scholarship players, not including linebacker Lamar Dawson, who’s redshirting and returning for another year. I chronicled the contributions Hayes Pullard and Randall Telfer have made to the program here. Of course, the seniors aren’t the only ones preparing to say goodbye. Leonard Williams, Buck Allen and Nelson Agholor are prime candidates to declare for the NFL draft. I can’t imagine Williams, who could be the No. 1 overall pick, would come back or that anyone would blame him for leaving. Allen, as a running back, has only so much tread on his tires. Agholor’s situation isn’t quite as clear. He might not be a first-rounder, and he doesn’t play a short-shelf-life position. Then again, Agholor is an ambitious kid who was a big NFL fan growing up. So we’ll see.

2. HIS FIRST?

I have a feeling that freshman cornerback Adoree’ Jackson is going to get his first career interception. Given how skilled and competitive he is, it’s surprising he doesn’t have one yet. He has started to pick off some passes in practice, including a beauty against Cody Kessler this week, and he’s facing a quarterback in Everett Golson who turns the ball over at an alarming rate (13 interceptions, 7 lost fumbles). Jackson has good enough hands to play receiver – he’ll again make a cameo on offense this week – plus the coordination and instincts to track the ball in flight. It’s only a matter of time before Jackson gets a pick. My hunch is that his time is coming sooner than later.

* Coach Steve Sarkisian said that "in a perfect world" LB Lamar Dawson (knee) and RB Tre Madden (toe) will redshirt this season. Sarkisian said he's meeting with Madden's parents Thursday to finalize the decision. He has one more year of eligibility, as does Dawson. Neither has played this season.

* Cornerback Adoree' Jackson (groin/hip) returned to practice after sitting out Tuesday and missing the end of the Arizona game.

* Defensive end Leonard Williams did not practice for the second straight day, but Sarkisian said he expects Williams to play Saturday against Colorado.

* Andre Heidari kicked field goals after resting his sore groin muscle Tuesday. His status for the Colorado game is still being evaluated. It's possible that Heidari will kick placements and Alex Wood will handle kickoffs. Wood kicked off well against Arizona.

USC will decide within the next week or so whether linebacker Lamar Dawson and tailback Tre Madden will play this season.

Dawson, who had knee surgery last season, has yet to play this year. The senior has been leaning toward redshirting.

“If you held a gun to my head today, I would imagine that Lamar would redshirt and we would have him available for spring practice and ready for the fall,” USC coach Steve Sarkisian said Wednesday.

Sarkisian said “we’re getting close” to make that same call with Madden. The redshirt junior from Mission Viejo suffered a turf-toe injury late in training camp. He tried to run last week but suffered a setback.

“When he came back to start to get himself ready to go, it just kind of flared back up,” said Sarkisian, whose team visits No. 10 Arizona on Saturday.